Department for Transport

Department for Transport: EU Law

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which EU directives relating to his Department's responsibilities are awaiting transposition into UK law.

Andrew Jones: The UK remains a member of the EU until we leave, with full rights and obligations of membership. This includes transposing EU legislation into UK law. The Department for Transport is aware of the following directives relating to the Department’s responsibilities for which transposition is planned: Directive 2003/20/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 April 2003 amending Council Directive 91/671/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to compulsory use of safety belts in vehicles of less than 3,5 tonnesDIRECTIVE 2012/34/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 21 November 2012 establishing a single European railway areaAmending Directive 2005/36/EC on the recognition of professional qualifications and Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 on administrative cooperation through the Internal Market Information System (‘the IMI Regulation’) (Text with EEA relevance)Directive 2013/35/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on the minimum health and safety requirements regarding the exposure of workers to the risks arising from physical agents (electromagnetic fields) (20th individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC) and repealing Directive 2004/40/EC.COMMISSION DIRECTIVE (EU) 2016/882 of 1 June 2016 amending Directive 2007/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards language requirements (Text with EEA relevance).Commission Directive 2014/90/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 on marine equipment and repealing Council Directive 96/98/ECDIRECTIVE 2014/94/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 22 October 2014 on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructureamending Annex II to Directive 2000/59/EC of the European Parliament and the Council on port reception facilities for ship-generated waste and cargo residuesCOUNCIL DIRECTIVE 2014/112 of 19 December 2014 implementing the European Agreement concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time in inland waterway transportCOUNCIL DIRECTIVE (EU) 2015/652 of 20 April 2015 laying down calculation methods and reporting requirements pursuant to Directive 98/70/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council relating to the quality of petrol and diesel fuelsDIRECTIVE (EU) 2015/719 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 29 April 2015 amending Council Directive 96/53/EC laying down for certain road vehicles circulating within the Community the maximum authorised dimensions in national and international traffic and the maximum authorised weights in international trafficDIRECTIVE (EU) 2015/413 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 11 March 2015 facilitating cross-border exchange of information on road-safety-related traffic offencesDirective 2014/52/EU on the assessment of the effects of public and private projects on the environmentDIRECTIVE 2014/45/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 3 April 2014 on periodic roadworthiness tests for motor vehicles and their trailers and repealing Directive 2009/40/EC (Text with EEA relevance)DIRECTIVE 2014/46/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 3 April 2014 amending Council Directive 1999/37/EC on the registration documents for vehiclesDIRECTIVE 2014/47/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 3 April 2014 on the technical roadside inspection of the roadworthiness of commercial vehicles circulating in the Union and repealing Directive 2000/30/EC (Text with EEA relevance).COMMISSION DIRECTIVE (EU) 2016/844 of 27 May 2016 amending Directive 2009/45/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on safety rules and standards for passenger ships (Text with EEA relevance).Co-decided (EU) Directive 2015/1513 amending Directive 98/70/EC on the quality of petrol and diesel fuels (and amending Directive 2009/28/EC on promotion of use of energy from renewable sources)Directive (EU) 2015/1794 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 October 2015 amending Directives 2008/94/EC, 2009/38/EC and 2002/14/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, and Council Directives 98/59/EC and 2001/23/EC, as regards seafarers (1) Commission Directive (EU) 2016/1106 of 7 July 2016 amending Directive 2006/126/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on driving licences.DIRECTIVE (EU) 2016/797 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 11 May 2016 on the interoperability of the rail system within the European Union (recast).DIRECTIVE (EU) 2016/798 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 11 May 2016 on railway safety (recast).Directive (EU) 2016/1629 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 September 2016 laying down technical requirements for inland waterway vessels, amending Directive 2009/100/EC and repealing Directive 2006/87/EC

Department for Transport: Policy

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will provide a comprehensive list of the public policy targets established by his Department (a) between 2010 and May 2015 and (b) since May 2015.

Mr John Hayes: A comprehensive list of the Department for Transports public policy targets from 2011 to 2015, including progress reports and updates is published on Gov.UK and can be found at the link below:-https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-for-transport-business-plan The Department for Transport’s present programme for 2015 to 2020 can be found in the Department’s Single Departmental Plan which was published in February 2016. It can be found at the following link:-https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dft-single-departmental-plan-2015-to-2020

Electric Vehicles

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many electric vehicle rapid charging points will be introduced in (a) England and (b) London in (i) 2017, (ii) 2018, (iii) 2019 and (iv) 2020; and what methodology was used to determine those figures.

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) funding is available and (b) steps have been taken to support the introduction of a rapid charging network infrastructure for electric vehicles capable of supporting commercial demand for electric vehicles.

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the number of electric vehicle charging points that will be required to meet the predicted demand for (a) commercial and (b) consumer electric vehicles in London.

Mr John Hayes: The Government is supporting an increase in provision of electric vehicle chargepoints as part of its programme for ultra low emission vehicles (ULEVs). At Autumn Statement 2016, the Chancellor announced additional funding of £80m for charging infrastructure (including rapid charge points) for the period 2017 to 2020 and Government is considering how best to allocate this funding to meet the needs of drivers and deliver value for money. Alongside this, Highways England has £15m to expand the existing rapid chargepoint network to ensure that across 95 per cent of the strategic road network there will be a chargepoint at least every 20 miles. As part of this, Government will be working with Highways England to understand current and future demand on England’s strategic road network. Transport for London’s July 2015 ULEV Delivery Plan committed to deliver 300 rapid charge points by 2020, with 150 by 2018, to meet the expected demand from taxis and commercial fleets. The government is supporting this ambition with a total of £12.6m of funding. Many chargepoints will be introduced by Local Authorities and the private market in England or London in the coming years. In order to help meet demand from commercial vehicles, fleets and employee cars, the Government’s Workplace Charging Scheme (£7.5m) provides funding towards the purchase and installation costs of electric vehicle chargepoints for eligible UK companies. This support is in addition to the Government’s UK-wide Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme, to provide funding towards the installation of a dedicated domestic chargepoint, for electric vehicle drivers with access to off-street parking. The Government’s On-Street Residential Charging Scheme (£2.5m), is also available to Local Authorities in the UK to provide up to 75% of the funding towards the installation of on-street chargepoint in residential areas without off-street.

Govia

Jeremy Quin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Office of Rail and Road's report, GTR-Southern Railways-Driver Only Operation, published on 5 January 2017, what assurances he has received from that train operating company that the equipment, procedures and staffing are in place as recommended in that report.

Paul Maynard: It is for the independent safety regulator - the Office of Road and Rail (ORR) - to judge whether the equipment, procedures and staffing is in place to provide a safe railway operation, and therefore it is to the ORR that such assurances are provided. The Secretary of State for Transport is aware that the operator concerned has provided the necessary assurances as recommended in the report he mentions.

A1

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to stimulate public or private investment in the A1(M) to increase capacity on that road.

Mr John Hayes: The government’s current Road Investment Strategy provides for investment in various parts of the A1(M) including a commitment to upgrade junctions 6-8 of the A1(M) to smart motorway standard to increase capacity and improve safety. The capacity of the A1(M) in the East of England has been further investigated as part of the A1 East of England Strategic Study published last year. The final report of that study was published in November 2016. These documents are available on gov.uk In addition, Highways England are currently preparing Route Strategies providing an assessment of the entire strategic road network in terms of performance and pressures on it. The Strategic Study and Route Strategies will inform the preparation of the next Road Investment Strategy.

Railways: Industrial Disputes

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 December 2016 to Question 55987, on what dates (a) his and (b) predecessor departments received force majeure claims from train operating companies in relation to industrial action since January 1996; and what the outcome was in each such case.

Paul Maynard: I refer the hon Member to my answer of 20 December to Question 57840 (http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-questions-answers/?page=1&max=20&questiontype=AllQuestions&house=commons%2clords&uin=57840).

Southern: Standards

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to publish the (a) key findings and (b) full report of Chris Gibb's project board into rapid improvements of Southern Rail.

Paul Maynard: As requested, Chris Gibb has provided advice to the Secretary of State, much of which is already being taken forward. Chris Gibb is now working on developing his advice into a set of recommendations which will be published in due course.

Air Pollution

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department's objectives are related to air quality.

Mr John Hayes: The Department for Transport’s Single Departmental Plan sets out its four objectives. Tackling air quality supports all of these objectives, but it is particularly important for delivering safe, secure and sustainable transport. The Government’s plans for tackling air quality are set in the National Air Quality Plan for Nitrogen Dioxide, published December 2015, which will be updated shortly.

South Wales Railway Line: Electrification

Chris Elmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will carry-out a feasibility study for electrifying the rail line from Cardiff to Swansea.

Paul Maynard: The Government remains committed to delivering the Great Western Modernisation Programme delivering passenger benefits including the new IEP trains that will be entering service on this route later this year.

Heathrow Airport: M4

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when his Department plans to consult on the Airports Commission's Surface Access Works: Strategic Road Network Proposals for the expansion of Heathrow Airport which relate to the M4 between junctions 2 and 4.

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Airports Commission's Surface Access Works: Strategic Road Network (SRN) Proposals, whether his Department will publish further details of the SRN surface access proposals for the expansion of Heathrow Airport which relate to the M4 between junctions 2 and 4.

Mr John Hayes: The Airports Commission in its Final Report and supporting documents published in July 2015, considered potential options for improving capacity on the M4 motorway between junctions 2 and 4 in relation the expansion of Heathrow airport. As part of the Government’s consideration of the Airports Commission’s work and recommendations, Highways England assessed and validated the costs and deliverability of the Commission’s strategic road proposals, which were published in October 2016 alongside Government’s announcement of its preference for a new northwest runway at Heathrow airport. The Department recognises that future improvements to the M4 may be needed for a number of reasons to address future transport demand, including wider population and economic growth, but not solely as a result of the proposed expansion of Heathrow airport. The Department will be considering the need for potential future improvements for the strategic road network, including the M4, as part of its long term investment planning processes for development of future Road Investment programmes. The Government will set out details about plans for a new runway at Heathrow airport in Parliament through a draft National Policy Statement shortly. It will be subject to a full and public consultation and parliamentary scrutiny.

Heathrow Airport

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions his Department has had with the authorities at Heathrow Airport on ensuring that construction of the proposed third runway leaves an employment and skills legacy for the UK.

Mr John Hayes: Heathrow Airport Limited has made a public commitment to double the number of apprenticeships to 10,000 by the time a new runway is operational. This commitment was also set out in the Statement of Principles, agreed between the Secretary of State for Transport and Heathrow Airport Limited, published in October 2016. Additionally Heathrow Airport recently announced the development of the Heathrow Skills Task Force. Chaired by the Rt Hon, the Lord Blunkett, to identify the skills and training required to support both expansion at the airport and ensure that construction leaves a national skills legacy for future infrastructure projects. The Government will shortly publish a draft Airports National Policy Statement for public consultation and scrutiny by Parliament setting out the planning framework for any future Development Consent Order (DCO) for additional airport capacity in the South East.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Private Rented Housing: Homelessness

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2017 to Question 58921, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of re-introducing funding for private rented sector access schemes to support single homeless people to access private rented housing.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Universal Credit: Homelessness

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many people who are registered with local authorities in England as being homeless receive universal credit payments.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Garden Communities: Construction

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how his Department plans to measure whether proposed new garden cities, towns and villages are attractive and well-designed; and if he will make a statement.

Gavin Barwell: We do not want to impose a set of design or development principles on communities. We want to support local authorities and communities in developing their own vision for locally-led garden towns and villages, taking account of local plans. We expect to see ambitious proposals that set high standards for design, quality and the provision of green space.We are working with local areas to establish how best to measure and ensure those ambitions are being delivered.

Garden Communities: Construction

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many garden towns of more than 10,000 homes his Department plans to fund in the next 10 years.

Gavin Barwell: We are currently supporting the development of ten new locally led garden communities of more than 10,000 homes at Ebbsfleet, Bicester, Didcot, Basingstoke, Otterpool Park in Kent, Aylesbury, Taunton, Harlow & Gilston, North Essex and North Northamptonshire.We do not have a pre-set view of how many more garden communities of more than 10,000 homes we may support. We are encouraging local areas to be ambitious and want to see proposals that will provide high quality, transformational housing growth.

Garden Communities: Construction

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what his policy is on how schools, hospitals, libraries and other public services will be planned into the proposed new garden cities, towns and villages.

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what his policy is on how publicly owned physical infrastructure will be planned into the proposed new garden cities, towns and villages.

Gavin Barwell: We are determined that new garden cities, towns and villages are supported by the right infrastructure at the right time. We have committed £15 million of capacity funding to support master planning and key studies to underpin joined up delivery of new housing and infrastructure in the garden cities, towns and villages. Our new £2.3 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund shows just how serious we are about ensuring that infrastructure is in place to support housing growth.

Garden Communities: Construction

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing private firms to construct and run physical infrastructure usually provided by public bodies in the proposed new garden cities, towns and villages.

Gavin Barwell: We are determined that garden cities, towns and villages are underpinned by the right infrastructure at the right time. Garden Cities should be locally led and I stand ready to consider innovative proposals put forward by local areas.

Garden Communities: Construction

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to allow proposed new garden cities, towns and villages to go ahead on the sites of (a) airfields, (b) playing fields and (c) other community spaces.

Gavin Barwell: The principles set out in the National Planning Policy Framework(NPPF) on the location of development in general apply equally to garden cities, towns and villages. The announcement of government support for a garden city, town or village does not in any way pre-judge the planning process. We would expect local authorities to work within the context of the NPPF and of policies set out in their Local Plan, and also ensure that the usual opportunities for interested individuals and groups to engage with these proposals and make representations are provided.

Housing: Ebbsfleet

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many homes have been built in Ebbsfleet Garden City.

Gavin Barwell: Holding answer received on 19 January 2017



These figures are published by Ebbsfleet Development Corporation, which was set up by Government to deliver the Ebbsfleet Garden City. This, and other performance data, is available here:http://ebbsfleetdc.org.uk/tracking-our-performance/

Social Services: Finance

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of revenue to be raised by the social care precept in (a) Southampton, (b) the five poorest local authorities and (c) the five wealthiest local authorities in England in 2017-18.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Garden Communities: Construction

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to compensate residents living in the vicinity of proposed new garden cities, towns and villages.

Gavin Barwell: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Neighbourhood Plans

Mims Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what funding his Department has provided to councils in support of neighbourhood plans in the last financial year.

Gavin Barwell: In the last financial year 2015/16 the Department paid £5.2 million to local planning authorities to support neighbourhood planning duties. Arrangements for supporting local planning authorities for 2017/18 will be published shortly.

Housing: Construction

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many homes have been built on spare public land sold by the Government in each year since 2010.

Gavin Barwell: Initial figures for homes built on land released by the Homes and Communities Agency during the 2011-15 Public Land for Housing programme will be included in the Annual Report for the 2015-20 Public Land for Housing programme, due to be published shortly.Details on the number of home completions on land sold by all government departments and their agencies in both the 2011-15 and 2015-20 Public Land for Housing programmes will be published on an annual basis from summer 2017 in subsequent annual reports.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Housing Associations: Land

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the average time taken for housing associations' titles to be registered at the Land Registry has been in each month of the last three years for which figures are available.

Margot James: The data requested is complex and will take some time to collate. I will place this in the Libraries of the House as soon as the information is available.

Minimum Wage

Mr David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to encourage employers to consider paying above the minimum wage levels set in legislation.

Margot James: The Government wants to build an economy that works for everyone, where low wage workers are fairly rewarded for their contribution to the UK economy.We believe that it is essential for employers to ensure that their reward packages are competitive, in order to retain and develop the workers who are fundamental to their success. However, it is ultimately for employers to decide how they manage increases in their wage bill. The Government will hence continue to set a minimum hourly wage, and remuneration above that rate is a contractual matter for the employer and worker.The Government has committed to ensuring a competitive business environment. The Government’s increase in the Employment Allowance, and reduction in employers’ National Insurance contributions, is estimated to benefit up to 500,000 businesses and charities, and the government’s cuts to the main rate of corporation tax will benefit over a million companies, allowing them to increase the pay of their workers.

Sellafield

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the cost of (a) emptying the Pile Fuel Storage Pond at Sellafield, (b) full radiological and toxicological decontamination of that pond and (c) conditioning, packaging and final long-term management of the spent nuclear fuel recovered from that pond.

Jesse Norman: The safe decommissioning of the Pile Fuel Storage Pond is a priority of the hazard and risk reduction programme at Sellafield. The entire bulk stocks of historic nuclear fuel have now been removed from this nearly 70 year old facility, and the assessed radioactive hazard risk associated with the facility has been reduced by 70%. The current life time plan budget for emptying the Pile Fuel Storage Pond of fuel and waste, and decommissioning the facility in line with the agreed end state for the Sellafield site is approximately £1bn.

Hinkley Point C Power Station

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what criteria his Department plans to use when considering requests by a generating party to the investor agreement on Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant that information on that agreement requested under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 should be considered commercially sensitive.

Jesse Norman: All Freedom of Information requests are considered on a case-by-case basis taking into account all the circumstances of the case at the time the request is made. If the Department considered that information within the scope of a request would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any person (including the public authority holding it) and the balance of the public interest favoured withholding it, subject to applicable law, then the information would not be disclosed.

Tidal Power

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to respond to the Hendry Review.

Jesse Norman: The issues considered by the Review are wide-ranging and complex, as they relate to an untried technology in the marine environment. The Government is currently assessing the recommendations set out in the Review, and will consider the issues which would arise from a broader lagoon programme. A Government response will be published in due course.

Green Investment Bank

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2017 to Question 59325, whether private capital had been secured for the offshore wind assets before the decision to establish the new companies was taken.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2017 to Question 59325, on whose instruction the 10 new subsidiary companies were established at the Green Investment Bank in November and December 2016.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2017 to Question 59325, whether the Government's preferred bidders for the Green Investment Bank had any involvement in the decision to establish the 10 new subsidiary companies at that bank in November and December 2016.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2017 to Question 59325, whether nominated trustees of the special share company of the Green Investment Bank were alerted to the establishment of new companies.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2017 to Question 59325, whether Ministers or officials of his Department were aware at the time of the creation of 10 new subsidiary companies at the Green Investment Bank in November and December 2016.

Mr Nick Hurd: In November and December 2016 the Green Investment Bank (GIB) incorporated twelve new Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs): Galloper Holdco Limited; OSW Co Holdings 1 Limited; OSW Co Holdings 2 Limited; OSW LP Holdco Limited; Project G Holdco Limited; Project G Holdings 1 Limited; Project G Holdings 2 Limited; Rampion Holdco Limited; WMR Holdco Limited; Rampion Investco Limited; New Green Interim Holdco Limited; and UK Green Investment Lyle Limited.The SPV ‘UK Green Investment Lyle Limited’ was incorporated in the course of business-as-usual to support GIB’s investment in the Lincs offshore wind farm (publicly announced by GIB on 13 January 2017).The remaining eleven SPVs were incorporated in order to facilitate the potential introduction of private capital in to a number of GIB’s offshore wind assets, following discussion between GIB and the UK Government. These entities are currently dormant and own no assets.

Small Businesses: Finance

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to increase the financial support available for small businesses; and if he will make a statement.

Margot James: The British Business Bank is supporting £3.2 billion of finance to over 51,000 smaller businesses across the UK. This includes over 44,000 Start-Up Loans worth over £275 million. At a local level, the Bank is working alongside 10 Local Enterprise Partnerships in the Northern Powerhouse region to deliver a fund of over £400 million and in the Midlands Engine region the Bank is working with Local Enterprise Partnerships to deliver a fund of over £250 million, once launched these funds will be available to support small businesses in these regions.Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, helps high-growth potential SMEs become high-growth mid-sized companies. Its core budget is £567 million in 2016/17 and around 60% of Innovate UK’s grant funding goes to SMEs

Small Businesses

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of sole traders operating in the UK in each year since 1990; and if he will make a statement.

Margot James: Estimates of the number of sole traders are available from 1996 in the table below. Due to an improvement to the methodology in 2010 there is a break in the series; an estimate for 2009 on the new basis has been provided for information. Number of sole trader businesses All – old method 1All – new method 2Of which EmployersOf which No employees19962,451,707 330,6982,121,00919972,470,260 329,8652,140,39519982,234,915 367,5551,867,36019992,204,955 358,8451,846,11020002,226,270 370,5801,855,69020012,326,530 368,0551,958,47520022,325,545 369,5701,955,97520032,522,490 346,1452,176,34520042,719,410 329,2252,390,18020052,741,780 321,4752,420,30520062,816,885 322,1002,494,78520072,984,755 315,8902,668,86520083,024,520 306,0602,718,46020093,089,4052,801,470302,1252,787,2802010 2,757,200302,8002,454,5002011 2,839,200294,8002,544,4002012 3,026,200296,5002,729,6002013 3,079,200276,5002,802,6002014 3,279,100279,3002,999,8002015 3,335,400274,3003,061,2002016 3,323,900265,4003,058,500 1. Source: Small and Medium Enterprises in the UK and Regions2. Source: Business Population Estimates for the UK and Regions

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Israel: UN Resolutions

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he plans to take to ensure that UN Security Council Resolution 2334 (2016) on the cessation of Israeli settlement and demolition activities in the West Bank is enforced.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: It has long been our position that Israeli settlement activity is illegal and undermines the viability of two states for two peoples, but it is far from the only obstacle to peace. UN Security Council Resolution 2334 addresses settlements while also calling for an end to incitement and terror. The resolution was passed on 23 December and asks the Secretary-General to report to the Council every three months on the implementation of its provisions. We will monitor the situation closely.

UN Resolutions: Racial Discrimination

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 December 2016 to Question 55858, what progress has been made by his Department on securing amendments to UN General Assembly Resolution 70/140 in order for the Government to support that resolution.

Alok Sharma: As stated in our answer in response to Question 55858, the Government remains firmly committed to the global fight against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. The UK, along with EU partners, abstained in the vote on the resolution "Combating glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance" in November 2016 as we considered the resolution, tabled by the Russian Federation, to be unbalanced and politically motivated. Furthermore, the resolution did not address all contemporary forms of racism in a comprehensive way.Negotiations on the text for the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly will begin later this year. We will continue to engage on this issue with Russia, who table this resolution annually, and seek to secure further amendments when negotiations formally begin.

Israel: Palestinians

Dr Tania Mathias: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, for what reason the Government did not send a full representative to the Paris Peace Conference of 15 January 2017 on peace between Israel and Palestine.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK welcomes France’s efforts to promote peace. But we were always clear that a conference so close to the change of US administration, and without the attendance of the two main parties, was not the best way to make progress. Therefore we decided to attend the conference as an observer, at senior official level.

Israel: Palestinians

Tommy Sheppard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he plans to send a Minister of his Department to future talks on establishing peace in Israel and Palestine; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK has not been invited to attend any future talks on establishing peace between Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. No such talks are planned between any of the parties, so there is no possibility of any country being invited. We would assess UK involvement in any future talks on a case-by-case basis, evaluating the likely impact of such talks on securing a negotiated two state solution.

Gambia: Elections

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what his policy is on recognising any appointment made by President Jammeh of the Gambia of a new ambassador to the UK in the event that he does not accept the outcome of the recent presidential election in that country.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Gambian Presidential elections of 1 December were an orderly exercise in democracy and have been recognised by the international community as free and fair. President-elect Barrow must therefore be allowed to assume authority, without fear of violence or disruption. We look forward to working with the President-elect's new Government and his appointed officials.

Gambia: Elections

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether it is his policy to support sanctions against President Jammeh of the Gambia in the event that he does not hand over power to President-elect Barrow.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK strongly condemns President Jammeh's continued rejection of the elections' clear and legitimate result and his attempts to extend his term in office. The Gambian constitution is clear that President Jammeh should have stepped down by midnight on 18 January. The Government supports ECOWAS efforts to secure a peaceful transition in The Gambia.

Israel: Palestinians

Tommy Sheppard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, who represented the Government at the Paris Peace Conference on 15 January 2017; and what representations that representative made on behalf of the Government.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK was represented at the Paris Peace Conference by the Head of the Near East Department. We attended as an observer and, in that capacity, we did not make any formal representations.

Iraq: Conflict, Stability and Security Fund

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Iraqi government on the amount the UK plans to provide through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I have not had any recent discussions with the Iraqi government regarding the amount the UK plans to provide through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF). However, Embassy officials regularly discuss our CSSF work with their counterparts in the Iraqi government.In financial year 16/17 the Iraq CSSF programme plans to spend £25.25m on a range of projects designed to help stabilise areas liberated from Daesh and provide a safe environment for displaced people to return home; support political reform and reconciliation and; provide strategic communications support to the Government of Iraq campaign to defeat Daesh. These complement the British Government's existing and significant political, humanitarian and coalition Counter-Daesh efforts.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what his policy is on the circumstances in which he would establish an independent inquiry into the renewable heat incentive scheme in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: I welcome yesterday’s announcement that a public inquiry into the Renewable Heat Incentive will now go ahead. I believe that this is important to build confidence in the ability of the institutions to deliver and help set the tone for the election to come. This is a devolved issue and it is right and preferable that an inquiry has been agreed at Stormont. I would encourage full co-operation with the inquiry, and hope that it is able quickly and effectively to establish the facts, and provide assurances to the public. For our part, the Government will do everything we can to support this independent inquiry.

Department for International Development

Developing Countries: Poverty

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that maximum value for money is delivered by cash transfer schemes overseas.

James Wharton: The recent ICAI report on DFID’s cash transfer programmes found good achievement on alleviating poverty and vulnerability for the poorest households. DFID is currently considering how best to respond to the recommendations in the ICAI report, and will publish a response on 9th February.

Department for Education

Pre-school Education: Finance

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the technical correction to the dedicated schools grant at paragraph 38 of the Government response to the early years funding consultation, published in December 2016, which local authorities will be affected by the change referred to.

Caroline Dinenage: Our analysis of the 2016 Schools and Early Years census data shows that Oxfordshire, Islington, Birmingham, Stockport and Hackney would be affected by this change, which we are not planning to make until 2019-20.

Schools: Staff

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average cost was to a (a) school and (b) local authority of employing a (i) teacher and (ii) classroom assistant in the most recent period for which figures are available; and what estimate she has made of such costs in (A) 2016-17, (B) 2017-18, (C) 2018-19 and (D) 2019-20.

Nick Gibb: Statistics on the average salaries of teachers employed by schools and local authorities in England are published in Tables 9a to 9d of the ‘School Workforce in England: November 2015’ statistical release which is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2015The figures show that the average salary for all full and part-time teachers is £37,800.The latest data, for November 2015, shows the average salary for a full-time teaching assistant is £19,200.The Department’s pay reforms have given schools greater flexibility to decide how much to pay their teachers and how quickly their pay progresses over time.Future salaries of teachers will be informed by the annual recommendations of the School Teachers Pay Review Body. The pay of teaching assistants and school support staff are set by schools themselves. The Department does not produce forecasts of future average pay for these staff.

Teachers: Training

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 5 September 2016 to Question 43027, what assessment she has made of trends in the number of applications to early years teacher training courses over the last five years.

Caroline Dinenage: The early years initial teacher training statistics can be found in the Initial Teacher Training census for the academic year 2016 to 2017, England on page 14 of the Main Text SFR57/2016 document. This was published on GOV.UK 24 November 2016 and is attached for further information.This publication contains all the data which is of sufficiently robust quality to provide accurate information to inform debate. Previous years’ data were collected under different systems and are not comparable over time.



ITT Census for academic year 2016/2017
(PDF Document, 311.86 KB)

Higher Education: Part-time Education

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to address the continued decline in enrolments of all part-time students in higher education as indicated in higher education student enrolments and qualifications obtained at higher education providers in the UK in 2015-16.

Joseph Johnson: The Government believes that studying part-time can bring enormous benefits for individuals, the economy and employers, and is committed to helping part-time learners.Up-front fee loans for eligible part-time students were introduced in 2012/13 and we are further enhancing the student finance package for part-time students by introducing full-time equivalent maintenance loans in 2018/19.Since 2015/16, students who already hold an honours degree qualification and wish to study part-time on a second honours degree course in engineering, technology or computer science, have qualified for fee loans for their course. This is being extended for 2017/18 to graduates starting a second part-time honours degree course in any science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subject.In our February 2016 guidance, we asked the Director of Fair Access to provide a renewed focus on part-time study.

Pre-school Education: Finance

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made based on the new early years funding formula of the maximum amount of funding each local authority would be able to retain in (a) 2017-18 and (b) 2018-19.

Caroline Dinenage: Under our new early years funding reforms, local authorities are required to ensure that at least 93% of their early years funding is passed on to providers in 2017-18 and that at least 95% of funding is passed on from 2018-19. This means that the maximum amount of funding that local authorities will be able to retain (or transfer out of the early years block) will be constrained to a maximum of 7% in 2017-18 (and 5% from 2018-19).As set out in our Operational Guide for local authorities, compliance will be assessed against the proportion of the Government’s hourly funding rate that is passed onto providers. The Operational Guide can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/580716/EYNFF_Operational_Guidance.pdf

Pre-school Education

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of disadvantaged three and four year olds as measured by free school meals data currently access the 15 hours early education free entitlement in a (a) maintained, (b) PVI and (c) childminder setting; and what estimate she has made of the number and proportion of such children who will be eligible for 30 hours free entitlement.

Caroline Dinenage: The information requested is not available as the Department does not collect the number of disadvantaged three- and four-year-olds across all provider types as measured by free school meals.Data is not yet available on the number of disadvantaged three- and four-year-old children who are eligible for the additional funded hours as measured by free school meals.

Pre-school Education: Finance

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which local authorities have applied to her Department to dis-apply the early years national funding formula high pass-through requirement until 2019-20; and which local authorities have been successful in such applications.

Caroline Dinenage: Five local authorities have requested consideration of a disapplication of the highpass-through of the Government’s early years funding to providers. These requests are currently being considered and the local authorities will be notified of our decision as soon as possible.

Ministry of Justice

Marriage

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of granting legal recognition to humanist marriages.

Sir Oliver Heald: Assessments of the likely equality impacts and of the potential economic costs and benefits of provision for marriages by non-religious belief organisations, including humanist marriages, were published on gov.uk in June 2014 in the consultation paper on such provision.

Courts

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when the problem-solving courts pilot programme announced by her Department in May 2016 will begin.

Sir Oliver Heald: We are exploring further the opportunities for problem solving approaches following completion of the joint judicial working group report earlier this year. A number of courts are already using problem solving approaches, including clustered listing of drug review hearings, female-specific courts in Manchester and Aberdeen, and the Choices and Consequences programme in St Albans. I have visited a number of courts where problem solving approaches have been developed at a grassroots level in local communities, and will set out further plans in due course.

Child Abuse in North Wales Judicial Inquiry Review

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will publish an updated copy of the Macur Review with redactions relating to Gordon Angelsea reinstated.

Dr Phillip Lee: In light of Gordon Anglesea’s death we will consider whether to publish an updated report of the Macur Review.

Prime Minister

Business Advisory Group: Meetings

Bill Esterson: To ask the Prime Minister, when the Prime Minister's Business Advisory Panel last met; and when it next plans to meet.

Mrs Theresa May: As my Office confirmed in September, the Business Advisory Group was disbanded as part of a process to review and broaden business engagement structures.I have maintained a high level of business engagement across all sectors and parts of the UK.

Ministry of Defence

Saudi Arabia: Cluster Munitions

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if any Tornado aircraft (a) upgraded by UK personnel and companies under the Royal Saudi Air Force Tornado Sustainable Programme or (b) supplied from the UK to Saudi Arabia has been certified to carry (i) BL-755 munitions and (ii) any other munition falling within the definition of cluster munition of the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Sir Michael Fallon: The Release to Service (RTS) document that details the UK-assured carriage, release and jettison clearances for munitions operated by Royal Saudi Air Force Tornado aircraft included BL-755 munitions until the end of 2008. The certification for BL-755 was removed from the Tornado RTS, irrespective of the aircraft standard, in 2008.Details of the wider capabilities of Royal Saudi Air Force aircraft are a matter for the Government of Saudi Arabia and their suppliers.

Yemen: Cluster Munitions

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information the Government holds on (a) the type and model of aircraft used to deploy BL-755 munitions in Yemen by the Saudi-led coalition, (b) the squadron of which those aircraft are part, (c) the number of UK nationals who provide support services to those aircraft in each squadron, (d) the number of employees of UK companies who provide support services to those aircraft in each squadron and (e) the roles fulfilled by those UK nationals and employees.

Sir Michael Fallon: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Saudi Arabia: Cluster Munitions

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what work was carried out from 1986 to 2008 as contracted manpower support to Saudi Arabia for the maintenance, handling and storage of 500 BL-755 cluster munitions supplied to that country between 1986 and 1989.

Sir Michael Fallon: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Saudi Arabia: Cluster Munitions

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his oral contribution of 19 December 2016, Official Report, column 1216, if the Government has made representations to Saudi Arabia to request the transfer of any UK-produced BL-755 cluster munitions held by that country to the UK.

Sir Michael Fallon: No.

Armed Forces: Northern Ireland

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effect on service morale and operational capacity of prosecution of former members of the armed forces for activities in Northern Ireland which occurred prior to the Good Friday Agreement of 1998.

Mike Penning: I am acutely conscious of the impact of prosecutions of veterans for events relating to Operation BANNER on the morale both of those affected directly and of the broader military community. Where prosecutions take place, a full package of support, both legal and pastoral, is offered by the Department and partner agencies.

Armed Forces: Recruitment

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the shortfall was for the recruitment of reserve and regular soldiers and officers in (a) Infantry, (b) Royal Artillery, (c) Royal Corps of Signals, (d) Army Medical Services, (e) Adjutant General's Corps, (f) Royal Armoured Corps, (g) Army Air Corps, (h) Royal Engineers, (i) Royal Logistics Corps, (j) Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and (k) Intelligence Corps in the last 12 months.

Mike Penning: The following table shows the number of regular soldiers recruited into the Army by Regiment or Corps for the 12 months from 1 December 2015 to 1 December 2016 against the target for that period. Other RanksTarget into Untrained Strength*Actual (intake)Household Cavalry/Royal Armoured Corps660580Royal Artillery750600Royal Engineers810650Royal Corps of Signals720470Army Air Corps140110Royal Logistics Corps1,280880Royal Army Medical Corps240210Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers890730Adjutant General’s Corps (Staff and Personnel Support)320130Adjutant General’s Corps (Royal Military Police)160140Intelligence Corps130110Infantry3,4802,300 * Intake to untrained strength is those who commence Phase 1 training. Targets are internally set by the Army Recruitment and Training Division and are subject to constant change and review.   Officer recruits are recruited into the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst without being allocated a Regiment or Corps. For the period 1 December 2015 to 1 December 2016, 633 officer recruits were recruited into Untrained Strength against a target of 745.

Military Aircraft

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans his Department has to re-profile the equipment contracts for the (a) F-35 Lighting II, (b) P-8 Poseidon and (c) AH-64E Apache.

Harriett Baldwin: All three programmes remain on track to be delivered against their current plans.

Ministry of Defence: Procurement

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January 2017 to Question 59470, what steps his Department is taking to ensure sovereign supply of cables for military purposes.

Harriett Baldwin: Prime contractors are responsible for managing their supply chains and we would expect them to take appropriate action to ensure continuity of supply and to make decisions about future suppliers.The 2012 National Security through Technology White Paper (Cm8278) explains how we protect sovereignty in relation to defence procurement. Our default position for meeting defence requirements is through open competition, but the White Paper also describes how the Ministry of Defence would take action to protect our freedom of action and operational advantage where there are national security grounds. The 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review further committed the Department to take a more vigilant and systematic approach where the most sensitive components are concerned.

Armed Forces: Languages

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many personnel in the (a) Army, (b) RAF and (c) Royal Navy are trained at proficiency level (i) 1, (ii) 2, (iii) 3, (iv) 4 and (v) 5 in (A) Mandarin Chinese, (B) Japanese and (C) Korean.

Mark Lancaster: There are approximately 145 personnel across all three services that are trained in Mandarin Chinese, Japanese or Korean. It is not possible to provide a detailed breakdown for these languages because of the strategic and operational sensitivities surrounding them.The Ministry of Defence's (MOD) language requirements for intelligence or other purposes are met from a Departmental pool of Armed Forces and civilian personnel (and from contractors when needed). Cultural and language skills are a key operational enabler; therefore the Department reviews its future requirements for linguists regularly and trains its personnel accordingly.

AWE: Occupational Pensions

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions officials of his Department have had with the Atomic Weapons Establishment on the ongoing pensions dispute.

Harriett Baldwin: Changes to the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) Pension Scheme are a matter for AWE plc to determine as the employer. Throughout this process Ministry of Defence (MOD) officials have been in continuous contact with their counterparts at AWE. Additionally, MOD officials have met with representatives of the recognised AWE Trades Unions to clarify the Government's position.

Ministry of Defence: Policy

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will provide a comprehensive list of the public policy targets established by his Department (a) between 2010 and May 2015 and (b) since May 2015.

Mark Lancaster: The Ministry of Defence published a number of annual plans, which contained targets, for the period 2010-15 and these can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/mod-business-plan.After May 2015, the Ministry of Defence developed its annual Single Departmental Plan, along with other major departments, which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mod-single-departmental-plan-2015-to-2020/single-departmental-plan-2015-to-2020.The Single Departmental Plan is currently being refreshed and will be published later this year.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the implications for his Department's policies are of the US Department of Defense Director, Operational Test and Evaluation 2016 Annual Report on the F35 Joint Strike Fighter; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin: There are no implications for the F-35 Lightning II programme. All the issues that have been raised in the annual report are known and are under active management by the Joint Strike Fighter Joint Programme Office, and the UK Ministry of Defence.

Department for Work and Pensions

Members: Correspondence

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Glasgow Central of 5 December 2016 on the report Why people go to foodbanks, authorised by Castlemilk Law and Money Advice Centre.

Caroline Nokes: The hon. Member’s letter was answered on 17 January 2017.

Job Centres: Mental Health Services

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many mental health experts are employed in frontline services in job centres to embed the link between employment and mental health.

Penny Mordaunt: Jobcentre Plus work coaches receive a range of training so that they can help disabled people and people with health conditions, including those with mental health conditions. This includes undertaking accredited learning to improve their understanding of physical and mental health conditions so that they understand their needs and the barriers to work they face. Work coaches also access specialist support in their local area every day to ensure they can offer the right help and support. We want to do even more, and so we have announced additional Disability Employment Advisers, new Community Partners and additional mental health training and specialist advice pilots to further enhance the work coach role. In addition, ‘Improving Lives’, the Work, Health and Disability Green Paper published in October 2016, reflects a new approach to work, health and disability. It includes consulting on what else we could do to support work coaches working with disabled people and people with health conditions including those with mental health conditions.

Employment: Mental Illness

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps is he is taking to ensure full access to the workplace for people with ongoing mental health conditions.

Penny Mordaunt: The Work, Health and Disability Green Paper ‘Improving Lives’, published in October 2016, sets out our intention to remove the long-standing injustices and barriers that stop disabled people and people with health conditions, including ongoing mental health conditions, from getting into work and getting on. We are also determined to bring a new focus to efforts to prevent health conditions from developing and worsening, helping more people to remain in work for longer. This includes putting mental and physical health on an equal footing, to ensure people get the right care and prevent mental illness in the first place.To make early progress we are significantly improving our employment support. For example, expanding the number of employment advisers and introducing a new Personal Support Package offering tailored employment support. We are working with health partners to embed evidence into clinical practice and support training and education across the NHS workforce. We are also investing £115 million of funding to develop new models of support to help people into work when they are managing a long-term health condition or disability. We will identify and rapidly scale those which can make a difference, while weeding out less promising approaches.In her speech on the 9th January the Prime Minister announced that more will be done to support mental wellbeing in the workplace. Lord Stevenson, who has campaigned on these issues for many years, and Paul Farmer, CEO of Mind and Chair of the NHS Mental Health Taskforce, have been commissioned to work with leading employers and mental health groups to create a new partnership with industry and, review how best to ensure employees with mental health problems are enabled to thrive in the workplace and perform at their best and make prevention and breaking the stigma top priorities for employers. The Prime Minister also announced a review of employment discrimination laws against people with mental health conditions in the workplace for employees with mental health problems to ensure they are properly supported.

Employment: Mental Illness

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to encourage businesses to follow Department of Health guidance for employers on workplace adjustments for mental health conditions to promote mental health well-being among employees.

Penny Mordaunt: Access to Work has a Mental Health Support Service (MHSS) to assist those who are experiencing mental health difficulties which are affecting them at work, and those with a pre-existing mental health condition who have a job start date. We are currently consulting, through the Work, Health and Disability Green Paper, Improving Lives, to better understand how we can assist employers with their role of creating wellbeing in the workplace.

Children: Maintenance

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps are being taken to collect the almost £4 billion of child maintenance arrears debt currently owed.

Caroline Nokes: We currently have a range of strong collection and enforcement powers to pursue Child Maintenance arrears. Our main focus is to collect money owed to children who will benefit today. We are currently reviewing our approach to arrears built up under the 1993 and 2003 schemes and expect to publish our new arrears strategy later this year.

Jobcentres: Glasgow

Carol Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people use the Anniesland Jobcentre.

Damian Hinds: The information requested is not available. However, in the month of December 2016 there were 970 people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance and Universal Credit. This does not include people claiming Employment and Support Allowance and Incapacity Benefits as the extent to which these claimants are required to attend the Jobcentre will vary, depending upon the specific requirements of the benefit they receive.

Jobcentres: Glasgow

Carol Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with disabilities use the Anniesland Jobcentre.

Damian Hinds: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Jobcentres: Glasgow

Carol Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people using the Anniesland Jobcentre have been informed in writing of the potential closure of that jobcentre.

Damian Hinds: It is important to remember that the announcements in Glasgow are just proposals at this stage and not final decisions. Posters are prominently displayed at Anniesland Jobcentre and customers are being made aware when attending the office. Jobcentre staff will offer advice to customers on the options available in terms of alternative offices, should it be necessary to do so and after a decision has been made.

Children: Maintenance

Dr Tania Mathias: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Child Maintenance Service takes account of a person's lifestyle as well as income in determining liabilities for paying maintenance.

Caroline Nokes: The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) does not take into account a person’s “lifestyle” in calculating a maintenance liability. The CMS has access to income information held by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), allowing us to capture a much wider range of income types received by Paying Parents. The definition of income within the 2012 scheme includes almost all additional sources of gross income captured by self-assessment. We refer to this as “unearned income” and it includes incomes from property, savings and investments (including dividends) and other miscellaneous incomes. This provides a more effective route to taking these kinds of income into account than the “lifestyle” ground which existed for the previous schemes of maintenance.

Employment Schemes

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department plans to spend on (a) the Work Programme and (b) Work Choice in each year until those programmes cease to operate.

Damian Hinds: The total budget for Contracted Employment Programmes for 2016-17 is £426.6m. It is not possible to publish the disaggregation of this figure to individual programmes, as this is subject to change throughout the year. We are unable to provide any information for future years as funding has not yet been finalised at this level of detail.

Employment Schemes

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what date he has set for the cessation of (a) the Work Programme and (b) Work Choice.

Damian Hinds: Final referrals to the Work Programme will be made as per contracts on 31 March 2017. Participants will receive up to 104 weeks on the programme and the date for the final participant to complete the programme is 29 March 2019. The final qualifying claim for a sustained job outcome is 26 June 2021. Current Work Choice contracts are due to end during April 2017. The precise dates vary according to individual contract.

Jobcentres: Glasgow

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has plans to estimate the number of disabled working age population in Glasgow South constituency to inform the equality impact assessment on the proposed closure of Glasgow jobcentres.

Damian Hinds: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Children: Maintenance

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria were used to determine the Child Maintenance Service's enforcement charges, including liability orders, lump sum reduction orders, regular deduction orders and deduction from earnings orders and requests.

Caroline Nokes: Enforcement charges are intended to encourage parents to comply with their commitments, as well as to help off-set the administrative cost of taking enforcement action. The enforcement charges are lower than the actual cost to the Department for taking the action. To charge the full cost could have an adverse effect and encourage non-compliance, as well as being potentially disproportionate to the size of the debt. The levels are designed to be proportionate to the type, and seriousness, of the order that is being pursued. Enforcement charges are only collected once the ongoing maintenance and any arrears due have, been paid.

Employment and Support Allowance

Neil Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what evidential basis he took into account in making recent changes to financial support for disabled people new to the employment and support allowance work-related activity group.

Penny Mordaunt: It’s our duty to make sure that this group is supported not just financially but also to fulfil their potential. That is why we have put in place a new employment support package of £330m over 4 years which was developed together with stakeholders to help disabled people to move closer to the labour market.

Employment and Support Allowance: Glasgow

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 20 December 2016 to Question 57955, on employment and support allowance: Glasgow, if he will take steps to make available the information requested.

Penny Mordaunt: The Department currently has no plans to collect and publish this information for individual Jobcentre Plus offices. The Department does publish Employment and Support Allowance statistics to various geographical levels, including constituency (Westminster and Scottish), local authority and Jobcentre Plus district. These can be found here: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/default.asp. Guidance for users can be found here: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/home/newuser.asp.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Flood Control

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has been made by her Department in evaluating the potential merits of a transition to a total expenditure classification for flood and coastal erosion risk management funding; and if she will place in the Library a copy of that evaluation.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Defra and the Environment Agency are assessing whether allowing the Environment Agency greater flexibility between its resources and capital budgets for flood management could have any benefits. We will take this assessment into account in any future discussion with HM Treasury on the allocation of Exchequer funding for flood management. The assessment of a potential total expenditure approach has not yet been completed.

Flood Control

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will place in the Library a copy of the independent evaluation of the effectiveness of local flood risk management under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: I expect the report of the independent evaluation of the arrangements for managing local flood risk in England to be made publicly available soon on the Department’s Science Search web pages.

Flood Control: EU Grants and Loans

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 21 December 2016 to Question 57997, how much of the partnership funding for flood protection was provided by EU funds in each year since 2011.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Since 2011, the Environment Agency has received no partnership funding from European Union funds to deliver flood and coastal risk management schemes. Between 2014 and 2016, East Riding of Yorkshire Council has received £4.8 million from the European Regional Development Fund, administered by the Department for Communities and Local Government, for the Willerby and Derringham Flood Alleviation Scheme. The scheme was delivered in partnership with Hull City Council and the Environment Agency.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: iNHouse Communications

Melanie Onn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is in communication with iNHouse Communications Ltd in relation to any ongoing commercial tender process.

Melanie Onn: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has awarded any commercial contracts to iNHouse Communications Ltd in the last five years.

George Eustice: The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has no record of communication with iNHouse Communications Ltd on its tendering system and has not awarded any commercial contract to iNHouse Communications Ltd in the last five years.

Flood Control

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 21 December 2016 to Question 57941, how much funding for lead local flood authorities was transferred from her Department to the Department for Communities and Local Government in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2014-15 and (c) 2015-16.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: In 2013/14 Defra transferred £21 million of its budget for funding councils for their Lead Local Flood Authority role to the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) to be included within the Local Government Settlement. No funding for Lead Local Flood Authorities was transferred from Defra to DCLG in 2014/15 or 2015/16.

Slaughterhouses: Animal Welfare

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the level and extent of maltreatment of animals in slaughterhouses; and whether she has plans to tackle such maltreatment.

George Eustice: Official veterinarians (OVs) from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) are present in all approved slaughterhouses in England and take a prompt, proportionate and risk based approach to enforcement action when animal welfare breaches are identified. The numbers of these cases identified by the FSA for the period from April 2014 to June 2016 were published on the FSA website in August 2016 following a Freedom of Information Act request. The FSA have developed an action plan in regards to animal welfare in slaughterhouses which aims to “Deter, Prevent, Detect, Enforce”. An Animal Welfare Steering Group was set up by the FSA to oversee the delivery of its animal welfare action plan. Defra works closely with the FSA to ensure that the welfare of animals is maintained in all slaughterhouses. There is a wide ranging, systemic programme of animal welfare activity including strengthened verification of compliance through the establishment of welfare assurance teams; a welfare themed audit programme; targeted unannounced inspections; additional checks for non-compliant business operators; and improved education and instruction through an animal welfare publicity campaign in slaughterhouses.

Flood Control

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 21 December 2016 to Question 57996, for what reasons the Environment Agency has reduced its estimate of the proportion of partnership funding to be raised from private resources; and what assessment she has made of the effect of this change on her Department's capacity to raise the required level of partnership funding overall.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: To reduce the risk of flooding to a further 300,000 homes as part of the flood and coastal erosion risk management investment programme 2015 to 2021, the Environment Agency expects currently that 15 per cent of the partnership funding contributions required will come from private sources. This is estimated currently to be around £100 million and does not represent a reduction in the proportion of funding expected to come from private sector sources. The Environment Agency continues to work in partnership with the private sector and expect that further contributions will be secured as the programme progresses.

Infant Foods: Scotland

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on how many retailers in Scotland have been fined in each year since 2007 for failure to comply with the Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula (Scotland) Regulations 2007.

George Eustice: The Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula (Scotland) Regulations 2007 is a devolved matter. Defra does not hold any information on how many retailers have been fined since it was introduced.

Water: North West

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to facilitate the establishment of new internal drainage districts and water management boards where there is local support in the North West and to enable the use of available ratings data for that purpose.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: I am aware that the issue of the inaccessibility of 1990 ratings data is a barrier to the establishment of new internal drainage districts and those internal drainage boards that wish to expand their boundaries. Defra officials are working with all relevant organisations, including the Association of Drainage Authorities, Internal Drainage Boards, Environment Agency, National Farmers Union, Valuation Office Agency, and DCLG colleagues on this issue. They have set up a Ratings Working Group to investigate and explore the way forward. Defra is also reviewing the need for new primary legislation to address the issue.

Agriculture: Seasonal Workers

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with each of the devolved institutions on immigration rules for seasonal agricultural workers after the UK has left the EU.

George Eustice: Defra is very aware that seasonal workers from other EU countries will be one of the complex issues that will have to be resolved as part of our exit negotiation and future relationship with the EU. We are currently working with colleagues across government to understand the issues and explore options. Defra is also working closely with the devolved administrations to establish their views and priorities to get the best possible outcome for all parts of the United Kingdom as we leave the EU.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Recruitment

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the number of additional staff her Department plans to employ to assist with the proposed Great Repeal Bill; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice: Defra is amongst those Government Departments whose work is most closely linked to and impacted by EU activity, legal frameworks and funding. A number of roles within the Department will support EU work relating to the Great Repeal Bill to some degree. The resourcing of EU Exit work is a key priority of the Department and will be subject to on-going assessment. Work continues to identify the number of dedicated posts required in the long term. Staffing resources will be deployed flexibly across the entire Defra agenda, including work on the Great Repeal Bill.

Common Agricultural Policy: Fines

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether EU disallowance fines relating to the Common Agricultural Policy are paid for through Common Agricultural Policy funds.

George Eustice: Disallowance relating to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is paid from national, not CAP scheme, funds.

Home Office

Police: Emergency Calls

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of emergency calls to the police were responded to within 20 minutes in 2015-16.

Brandon Lewis: Responding to emergency calls is the responsibility of local police forces. Forces provide data to the Home Office on the number of 999 calls received but not on response times to 999 emergency calls.

Birmingham Prison

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, (a) what reimbursement West Midlands Police will receive for the deployment of officers to assist in containing the disturbance at HM Prison Birmingham on 16 December 2016 and (b) from what source that reimbursement will be made.

Brandon Lewis: This information is not held centrally.

Crime and Terrorism: EU Law

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to bring forward legislative proposals for Directive 2016/681/EU on the use of passenger name record data for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences and serious crime to be transposed into UK law.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The UK has led the way within Europe in the processing of Passenger Name Records to counter terrorism-related activity, serious crime and other threats to the security of the UK border. The European Commission acknowledged that in its “First progress report towards an effective and genuine Security Union” (COM(2016) 670), published on 12 October 2016 which noted in relation to the implementation of Directive 2016/681/EU: “Member States now need urgently to build their Passenger Information Units (PIUs). So far, only one Member State (the United Kingdom) has set up a fully functioning PIU”. Domestic legislation has provided the necessary framework to establish and operate this capability. To the extent that any additional legislation, regulations or administrative provisions may be necessary for the purpose of transposing the Directive, the deadline for their completion is 25 May 2018.

Migrant Workers: Free Movement of People

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to bring forward legislative proposals for Directive 2014/54/EU on measures facilitating the exercise of rights conferred on workers in the context of freedom of movement for workers to be transposed into UK law.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The UK already broadly fulfils the obligations set out in the Directive and these are reflected in our domestic laws.

European Investigation Order

Kirsty Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to bring forward legislative proposals for Directive 2014/41/EU on the European Investigation Order in criminal matters to be transposed into UK law.

Mr Ben Wallace: The Government is taking the necessary measures to comply with this Directive by 22 May 2017.

Asylum: Children

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to ensure that more unaccompanied children are granted asylum in the UK.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The UK has a proud history of providing protection to those who need it, in accordance with our international obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Over 8,000 children were granted asylum or another form of leave in the UK in the year ending September 2016.Each claim for asylum is considered on its individual merits and asylum decision makers receive extensive training on considering asylum claims, including claims made from unaccompanied children. Protection is normally granted when a claimant establishes a well-founded fear of persecution under the Refugee Convention or their particular circumstances engage our obligations under Article 3 (ECHR).

Asylum: Housing

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 9 January 2017 to Question 58482, what discussions the Government has had with (a) the Scottish Government and (b) Glasgow City Council on ensuring that contractors comply with the provisions of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2011 and relevant local authority rules.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Home Office and our asylum accommodation provider in Scotland are in regular contact with representatives from the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council on accommodation standards through forums such as the Scottish Asylum Dispersal Strategy Group, Asylum Stakeholders Forum and the Scottish Asylum Procurement Group.In Glasgow, all new property procurement proposals are individually considered by the Local Authority to ensure that they meet local legislation requirements.

Entry Clearances: Families

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many family visitor visas have been refused in each year since 2010 on account of reasonable doubt that the applicant for such a visa will leave the UK at the end of the visa period.

Mr Robert Goodwill: I am sorry but the Home Office does not hold the specific information in the format you have requested.In order to determine the number of refusals for the reasons you have stated, the department would have to interrogate individual case records, at disproportionate cost.

Home Office: Policy

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will provide a comprehensive list of the public policy targets established by her Department (a) between 2010 and May 2015 and (b) since May 2015.

Sarah Newton: A comprehensive list of Home Office public policy objectives and supporting targets is available on the GOV.UK website. For the period 2010 to 2015, the previous coalition government published ‘The Coalition: our programme for government’ which set out the key policy objectives for the government. The detailed Home Office objectives from this document were published in the Home Office Structural Reform Plan. The documents are available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/78977/coalition_programme_for_government.pdfand at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/structural-reform-plan--2. Following the General Election in May 2015, the Home Office, in common with other government departments has published a Single Departmental Plan which sets out current policy objectives. The current plan is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/home-office-single-departmental-plan-2015-to-2020.

Migrant Workers: Agriculture

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her Department has had with each of the devolved institutions on immigration rules for seasonal agricultural workers after the UK has left the EU.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The precise arrangements for controlling immigration after the UK leaves the EU have yet to be determined. However, as my Rt hon Friend, the Prime Minister, made clear in her Lancaster House speech on 17 January, the devolved administrations should be involved in the process of planning for the UK’s departure from the EU, and a Joint Ministerial Committee on EU negotiations has been established for this purpose.

Refugees: Children

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unaccompanied child refugees have been accepted into (a) York Central constituency, (b) York Local Authority area, (c) Yorkshire and the Humber region and (d) the UK since the passing of the Immigration Act 2016.

Mr Robert Goodwill: I am grateful to local authorities across Yorkshire for their participation in the National Transfer Scheme and them looking after unaccompanied children both brought to the UK under s.67 of the Immigration Act 2016 and that arrived in the UK as spontaneous asylum seekers. Since October 2016, approximately 200 of the children that were brought over from France as part of the Calais camp clearance were transferred as a result of them meeting the criteria for section 67 of the Immigration Act. A regional, local authority and constituency breakdown is not available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Refugees: Children

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many child refugees are planned to be resettled in the UK in 2017.

Mr Robert Goodwill: From within Europe, we will continue to meet our obligations under the Dublin Regulation and more unaccompanied children will be transferred to the UK under section 67 of the Immigration Act in the coming months. An announcement will be made in due course on the total number of children to be transferred to the UK under the Immigration Act.From outside of Europe, the Government has committed to resettle up to 3,000 individuals under the Vulnerable Children’s Resettlement Scheme (VCRS) from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region by the end of this Parliament, the majority of which will be children. We will also resettle 20,000 Syrians under the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPR) over the same period. Around half of those resettled under the Syrian VPR so far are children. We do not publish the numbers to be resettled in a given year; whilst we have an internal trajectory, we will manage the flows based on need and in support of the wellbeing of the people and communities involved, rather than rushing to meet targets.

HM Treasury

Non-governmental Organisations: Financial Services

Mr Charles Walker: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress the Government has made in working with non-governmental organisations to mitigate the effect of bank de-risking on their ability to provide humanitarian, peace-building and development assistance in broken and fragile states.

Simon Kirby: The government recognises the challenges that non-governmental organisations (NGOs) face from the withdrawal of banking services to the NGO sector. NGOs play a vital role in delivering humanitarian assistance in some of the most challenging and high-risk environments. The government is committed to helping them play this vital role whilst managing the risks that inevitably arise from operating in fragile states and conflict zones.Banks’ reduced appetite for risk, or ‘de-risking’, is a global trend affecting many countries and a number of sectors, and is due to a complex set of issues that makes finding a solution difficult.The government has been working with industry and affected sectors in the UK to better understand the issues and encourage dialogue with affected sectors and the banking sector. A recent report by the Financial Conduct Authority found that banks could do more to improve how they assess risks and communicate with their customers. The government will therefore continue to work with the regulators and banks to improve understanding in the banking sector. The government also provided comprehensive guidance for the NGO sector in November 2015 on the range of legislative frameworks covering the activities of NGOs overseas and is reviewed as required. The government will continue this dialogue to support the NGO sector in managing their risks when operating overseas in fragile states. HM Treasury is also working with other relevant departments to set up a HMG-NGO Working Group.

Economic Situation: Scotland

Ian Murray: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment the Government has made of the potential effect on (a) Scottish businesses and (b) Scotland's economy of the UK leaving the EU single market and reverting to World Trade Organisation rules.

Mr David Gauke: There are a range of outcomes on EU exit and it would not be sensible to set out the costs, benefits and consequences of different scenarios in advance of the EU exit negotiation. We have always been clear that this is a new chapter for the United Kingdom, but our economy is fundamentally strong and will continue to be strong as we conduct our negotiations for leaving the EU. We will work closely with the Scottish Government and Scottish businesses – and get the best possible deal for all parts of our United Kingdom as we leave the EU.

Treasury: Policy

Dan Jarvis: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will provide a comprehensive list of the public policy targets established by his Department (a) between 2010 and May 2015 and (b) since May 2015.

Simon Kirby: The public policy targets for HMT for 2010-2015 are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-business-plan. The public policy targets for HMT for 2015 onwards are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-treasury-single-departmental-plan-2015-to-2020/hm-treasury-single-departmental-plan-2015-to-2020.

Fossil Fuels: Tax Yields

Callum McCaig: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the expected tax yield from oil and gas in the next financial year as a result of the recent increase in the price of oil.

Jane Ellison: The forecasted Exchequer revenues (Offshore Corporation Tax and Petroleum Revenue Tax) arising from the production and extraction of North Sea oil and gas from the UK and UK Continental Shelf are presented in Table 4.6 of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) Economic and Fiscal Outlook: November 2016, which is available at: http://cdn.budgetresponsibility.org.uk/Nov2016EFO.pdf  The OBR will be publishing updated forecasts on 8th March 2017.

Fossil Fuels: Loan Guarantee Scheme

Callum McCaig: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress has been made on the delivery  of loan guarantees to companies operating in the oil and gas sector.

Mr David Gauke: The Government is willing to consider proposals for using the UK Guarantees Scheme for infrastructure where it could help secure new investment in assets of strategic importance to maximising economic recovery of oil and gas. Any proposals would also need to meet the existing criteria of the scheme, including in relation to commerciality and financial credibility. For commercial reasons, the Government cannot provide an ongoing commentary on any discussions in this area.

Financial Institutions: City of London

Stephen Timms: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his Oral Answer of 17 January 2017, Official Report, column 757, on leaving the EU: UK economy, what the evidential basis was for his statement that CityUK took the strategic decision to stop pushing for passporting rights and to focus instead on an enhanced equivalence regime.

Simon Kirby: TheCityUK published a paper on 12 January that detailed their priorities for EU withdrawal. The government has been and will continue to be engaged with TheCityUK and wider industry as we move forward to withdrawal negotiations.

Northern Ireland Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme

Mark Durkan: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether AME funding for the Northern Ireland non-domestic renewable heat incentive continued on an interrupted basis from 1 April 2015 to 30 September 2015.

Mr David Gauke: The Treasury’s role is to set an annual budget allocation for renewable heat schemes in Northern Ireland proportionate to the budget provided to the department which manages similar schemes in Great Britain. Administering the scheme, including the disbursal of payments to recipients, is the responsibility of the relevant Northern Ireland Executive departments.

Northern Ireland Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme

Mark Durkan: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether any misuse of funds attached to the uptake of the Northern Ireland non-domestic renewable heating incentive was confined to devolved spending only and did not entail use of AME funds.

Mr David Gauke: All spending on the Northern Ireland Renewable Heat Incentive is ‘devolved spending’ in respect of the Northern Ireland Executive’s devolved responsibilities.

Northern Ireland Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme

Mark Durkan: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether (a) his Department and (b) the National Audit Office were notified that the Northern Ireland Department for Finance and Personnel had declined to give retrospective approval for spending on the non-domestic renewable heat incentive scheme from 1 April 2015 to 30 September 2015.

Mr David Gauke: Neither the Treasury, nor the NAO, would expect to be notified of interactions between departments of the Northern Ireland Executive in relation to internal Northern Ireland Executive spending approval processes.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Department for Exiting the European Union: Senior Civil Servants

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many senior civil servant posts there are in his Department.

Mr David Jones: As at the 15th January 2017 the Department for Exiting the European Union has 37 SCS posts as detailed on the organisation chart: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-for-exiting-the-european-union-senior-management-team

Department for Exiting the European Union: Senior Civil Servants

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many senior civil servant posts are unfilled in his Department.

Mr David Jones: As at the 15th January 2017 the Department for Exiting the European Union is recruiting for 1 SCS post and has 1 vacancy.

Horizon 2020: Switzerland

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether his Department has examined the case of Switzerland's readmission into the Horizon 2020 programme ahead of forthcoming negotiations on the UK leaving the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: The Government is aware of the readmission of Switzerland to Horizon 2020. Officials across Government are carrying out a programme of sectoral and regulatory analysis, which will identify the key factors for UK businesses and the labour force that will affect our negotiations with the EU. They are looking in detail at over 50 sectors as well as cross-cutting regulatory issues. This work includes looking at science and research.As the Prime Minister has said, we would welcome an agreement to continue to collaborate with our European partners on major science, research, and technology initiatives.

Energy: Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he will make it his policy to secure the continuing existence of the all-Ireland single energy market as he negotiates the UK's future relationship with the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 20 December 2016 to the Question 57984.EU exit will not change the importance of either the trade which takes place in the Single Electricity Market on the island of Ireland, or the arrangements for the importation of gas. We are committed to working with the Northern Ireland Executive, the Irish Government, and with the EU to make sure that Northern Ireland continues to have access to an affordable, secure and sustainable supply of energy for business and domestic use.

State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he will make it his policy in negotiations to seek to retain European Economic Area (EEA) rules on state pensions paid to UK nationals living in EEA countries.

Mr Robin Walker: The reciprocal entitlements that will apply following the UK’s exit are subject to the wider negotiation on our future relationship with the EU. We will approach the negotiations with the full intention of securing a deal that delivers the best possible outcome for the UK and its nationals.

Shipping: Inspections

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether UK withdrawal from the EU customs union would result in a requirement for every shipping container to be inspected at its port of entry into the UK.

Mr Robin Walker: The Prime Minister has been clear that the current Customs Union arrangement with the EU would prevent us from negotiating our own comprehensive free trade agreements. But she was also clear that we want a customs agreement with the EU. ​No final decisions about the UK's future customs arrangements with the EU has yet been taken. There are a number of aspects to this and our aim is to get the best possible deal in the negotiation. However, even where we currently apply customs requirements on trade with the rest of the world, it is not the case that every shipping container needs to be inspected at its port of entry into the UK.

Fisheries

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether he plans for negotiations on fisheries to be conducted separately or within general Article 50 negotiations.

Mr Robin Walker: We want to have reached an agreement about our future partnership, which will cover issues such as fisheries, by the time the two-year Article 50 process has concluded.We seek a new and equal partnership – between an independent, self-governing, Global Britain and our friends and allies in the EU. As we negotiate that partnership, we will be driven by some simple principles: we will provide as much certainty and clarity as we can at every stage.

Eurojust and Europol: Membership

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what the Government's policy is on membership of (a) Europol, (b) Eurojust and (c) the European Arrest Warrant Scheme after the UK leaves the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: As the Prime Minister set out in her speech, one of the objectives for the negotiations ahead is to continue practical cooperation with the EU to tackle cross-border crime and to keep our people safe.As part of the negotiations, we will discuss with the EU and Member States how best to continue cooperation on security, law enforcement and criminal justice.

European Aviation Safety Agency: Membership

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what the Government's policy is on membership of the European Aviation Safety Agency after the UK leaves the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: As part of the exit negotiations the Government will discuss with the EU and Member States how best to continue cooperation in the field of aviation safety and standards. It would not be appropriate to pre-judge the outcome of the negotiations.

European Medicines Agency: Membership

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what the Government's policy is on membership of the European Medicines Agency after the UK leaves the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: As part of the exit negotiations the Government will discuss with the EU and Member States how best to continue cooperation in the field of medicines regulation in the best interests of both the UK and the EU. It would not be appropriate to pre-judge the outcome of the negotiations.

UK Trade with EU

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, pursuant to the Answer of 20 December 2016 to Question 57205, whether the policy of the Government remains giving UK companies the maximum freedom to trade with and operate in the Single Market while letting European businesses do the same in the UK.

Mr Robin Walker: As the Prime Minister outlined in her speech on Monday 17 January, we will pursue a bold and ambitious Free Trade Agreement with the European Union that should allow for the freest possible trade in goods and services between Britain and the EU’s member states. It should give British companies the maximum freedom to trade with and operate within European markets – and let European businesses do the same in Britain.

UK Trade with EU

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, if he will publish his economic assessments of the different options for market access and trade to accompany the Government's plan for leaving the EU as set out by the Prime Minister in her speech at Lancaster House on 17 January 2017.

Mr Robin Walker: We want Britain to have the greatest possible tariff and barrier-free trade in goods and services with our European neighbours and also to be able to negotiate our own trade agreements.The Department for Exiting the European Union, working with officials across government, continues to undertake a wide range of data analysis covering the entirety of the UK economy. We are looking at over 50 sectors as well as cross-cutting regulatory issues. This will inform the UK's position for the upcoming negotiations with our EU partners.As the Prime Minister has said, the government's plan for leaving the EU will be discussed at length. But as Parliament has also agreed, we will not publish anything that would undermine our ability to negotiate the best deal for Britain.

Department for International Trade

Department for International Trade: Senior Civil Servants

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many senior civil servant posts there are in his Department.

Mark Garnier: As at January 2017, the Department for International Trade has 94 Senior Civil Servant posts and UK Export Finance have 15 Senior Civil Servant posts within the department. These are being reviewed as the work of the Department evolves.

Department for International Trade: Senior Civil Servants

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many senior civil servant posts are unfilled in his Department.

Mark Garnier: As at January 2017 the Department for International Trade has four unfilled Senior Civil Servant posts in the Department. We will continue to expand trade policy capability and hire the brightest and best talent from within the UK civil service and from elsewhere, in order to deliver the best outcomes.

Overseas Trade: Iraq

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent steps his Department has taken to promote bilateral trade between the UK and Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Garnier: The Department for International Trade (DIT) are actively building bilateral trade links between the UK and Iraq, supported by the work of the Iraq Britain Business Council and the PM Trade Envoy to Iraq Baroness Nicholson.The Ambassador regularly raises trade issues with Prime Minister Abadi and in the last six weeks, along with DIT colleagues, has met with the President of Iraq and the Ministers of Electricity, Construction, Oil and Transport to support commercial opportunities for British companies. As a result, DIT has helped British companies win significant contracts in the air services, security and infrastructure sectors, with British companies competing for more business.The full range of medium and long-term UK Export Finance (UKEF) facilities is available to support UK exports to Iraq. UKEF has received expressions of interest from a number of businesses across a range of sectors. In December, UKEF supported UK exporter Biwater to deliver water treatment solutions in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Mobile Phones: Radio Frequencies

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the number of people who have taken out a mobile telephone contract in an area in which signal availability has been inadequate.

Matt Hancock: An estimate of this kind has not been made by the Department. However, for contracts taken out at distance people can cancel within the statutory 14 day cooling off period. For purchases made within a company’s shop many offer a 'check your coverage' cooling off period for the first two weeks after sign up and some offer extended periods to ensure coverage meets their needs.

Department of Health

Diabetes

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average length of hospital admittance of diabetic inpatients was in 2016.

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many ambulance call-outs there were for patients experiencing diabetic complications in 2016.

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many diabetic patients experienced complications with that condition, separate from the reason for their admittance, while they were in hospital as inpatients in 2016.

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many admissions to hospital from accident and emergency there were of patients with complications arising from diabetes (a) in total and (b) where the patient required use of an ambulance in 2016.

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many bids for NHS transformation funding for diabetes prevention and treatment were received between 12 December 2016 and 18 January 2017.

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many admissions to hospital from accident and emergency there were of patients with complications arising from diabetes (a) in total and (b) where the patient required use of an ambulance in Leicester in 2016.

Nicola Blackwood: The mean and median average length of stay for hospital patients with a primary diagnosis for diabetes and a primary or secondary diagnosis of diabetes in England for 2015/16 are shown in the table below.   Mean Length of stay (days)Median length of stay (days)Primary diagnosis of diabetes31Primary and secondary diagnosis of diabetes41 A count of finished admission episodes where patients have been admitted from accident and emergency with a primary diagnosis for diabetes and arrived to accident and emergency by ambulance in England and within East Leicestershire and Rutland, Leicester City and West Leicestershire clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) areas of residence for 2015/16 are provided in the following table.  Primary diagnosis admissions for diabetesAdmissions for diabetes who arrived by ambulanceEngland27,20116,937East Leicestershire and Rutland CCG9062Leicester City CCG174130West Leicestershire CCG11070 Data on how many diabetic patients experienced complications with that condition, separate from the reason for their admittance, while they were in hospital as inpatients is not available in the format requested. Data on the number of ambulance call-outs for patients experiencing diabetic complications in 2016 is not available in the format requested. Approximately 240 bids have been received for National Health Service transformation funding for diabetes prevention and treatment.

Doctors: Training

Dr Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to his announcement of 4 October 2016, that up to 1,500 extra medical training places will  be made available from September 2018, what increased Service Increment for Teaching funding will be provided to support the training of those additional medical students.

Dr Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to his announcement of 4 October 2016, that up to 1,500 extra medical training places will be made available from September 2018, whether those additional students will be supported by the same (a) undergraduate fee and (b) Higher Education Funding Council for England banding payments as existing medical students.

Mr Philip Dunne: National Health Service providers will receive clinical placement funding for the minimum number of students that Health Education England forecast are required to meet the longer-term workforce needs of the NHS. In early 2017, the Department plans to run a public consultation on its proposals to expand domestic undergraduate medical training places by up to 1,500 per year, from the academic year 2018-19. For the 2017-18 academic year, undergraduate medical students undertaking the first four years of their courses will qualify for the same tuition fee loan and living costs support package from the Student Loans Company as other full-time undergraduate students. For years five and six of their courses, these students will continue to qualify for NHS bursaries and an additional reduced rate non-means tested loan for living costs from the Student Loans Company. Teaching grants for medical students will also continue under the Office for Students (which is expected to assume Higher Education Funding Council for England’s funding responsibility from April 2018) reflecting the high-cost of the subject.

Health Services: Foreign Nationals

Mrs Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the NHS of treating foreign visitors to the UK; and what information his Department holds on the (a) nationality of and (b) health services accessed by those patients in each year since 2010.

Mr Philip Dunne: National Health Service trusts do not report patient care by nationality.An independent report by Prederi, entitled “Quantitative assessment of visitor and migrant use of the NHS in England” was commissioned by the Department to understand better the impact of treating visitors and migrants and was published on 22 October 2013. The report estimated the gross value of NHS-funded healthcare provided to non-European Economic Area visitors and temporary migrants was approximately £2 billion per year.Trusts provide data within their annual accounts showing information on the cash recovered in-year relating to invoices raised in current and previous years. Since 2013-14, the Department has been collecting data on the amount invoiced by NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts, together with amounts recovered and written off by those organisations.NHS trusts will take appropriate steps to recover any debts incurred by patients, including reporting the debt to the Department. Immigration Rules enable the Home Office to refuse a person with an outstanding NHS debt of £500 or more entry to, or further leave to remain in, the UK until the debt is paid. The Department shares information for this purpose with the Home Office and provides trusts with guidance on how and when to do so safely and appropriately.

Breast Cancer: Drugs

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will estimate the effect of making available on the NHS bisphosphonates for the treatment of secondary breast cancer on the number of women successfully treated for breast cancer each year.

Nicola Blackwood: Information is not available to enable such an estimate to be made. Although bisphosphonates are not licensed for the treatment or prevention of secondary breast cancer, there is no legal or regulatory barrier to healthcare professionals prescribing them ‘off-licence’ for this purpose on the National Health Service, subject to any local funding policies, if they believe that it is clinically appropriate to do so. In its clinical guideline on the diagnosis and treatment of early and locally advanced breast cancer (CG80), published in February 2009, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends that bisphosphonates should be offered to patients for the management of breast cancer treatment-induced bone loss subject to certain criteria. NICE is currently updating this guidance and the use of adjuvant bisphosphonates is one of the key areas that will be covered in the update which is expected in July 2018.

Breast Cancer: Drugs

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research his Department has undertaken into the barriers clinicians experience in prescribing bisphosphonates for the prevention of secondary breast cancer.

Nicola Blackwood: No such research has been undertaken. Although bisphosphonates are not licensed for the treatment or prevention of secondary breast cancer, there is no legal or regulatory barrier to healthcare professionals prescribing them ‘off-licence’ for this purpose on the National Health Service, subject to any local funding policies, if they believe that it is clinically appropriate to do so. In its clinical guideline on the diagnosis and treatment of early and locally advanced breast cancer (CG80), published in February 2009, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends that bisphosphonates should be offered to patients for the management of breast cancer treatment-induced bone loss subject to certain criteria. NICE is currently updating this guidance and the use of adjuvant bisphosphonates is one of the key areas that will be covered in the update which is expected in July 2018.

Department of Health: Policy

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will provide a comprehensive list of the public policy targets established by his Department (a) between 2010 and May 2015 and (b) since May 2015.

David Mowat: Between 2010 and 2015 the Department’s public policy targets were outlined in the Structural Reform Plan. That plan was originally published in July 2010 and updated periodically thereafter in the Department’s Business Plan. All of which are publically available.

Physician Associates

Dr Sarah Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the consultation on the role of Physician Associates announced in his keynote speech to the NHS Providers conference on 30 November 2016 will be launched.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Department is currently considering options for a consultation on the regulation of Physician Associates, which will be published in due course.

Hypnosis

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether use is made of hypnotherapy within the NHS for conditions other than for irritable bowel syndrome.

Nicola Blackwood: This information is not held centrally. It is the responsibility of local National Health Service organisations to make decisions on the commissioning and funding of any health care treatments for NHS patients, taking into account safety, clinical and cost-effectiveness and the availability of suitably qualified/regulated practitioners.

Royal Brompton Hospital

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will publish the impact assessment made on (a) NHS England's proposed closure of congenital heart disease services at Royal Brompton Hospital and (b) the potential transfer of patients from that hospital to (i) Great Ormand Street Hospital, (ii) Barts Hospital, (iii) St Thomas' Hospital and (iv) other hospitals.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS England intends to publish its impact assessment in due course.

Royal Brompton Hospital

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of additional (a) staff, (b) wards and (c) beds that will be required in each of the hospitals that will take patients transferred from the Royal Brompton Hospital in the event of the closure of that hospital's congenital heart disease services.

Mr Philip Dunne: As part of its ongoing work to help providers meet the new congenital heart disease commissioning standards NHS England is undertaking assessments to establish the impact its proposals might have on interventional and surgical services, including considering issues such as capacity and workforce.

Nutrition: Health Education

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 20 December 2016 to Question 58477, on nutrition: health education, what advantages and disadvantages were considered and identified by Public Health England when the external reference group recommended using the linear programming model to revise the Eatwell Guide.

Nicola Blackwood: The opportunities and limitations of the linear programming model, as well as other proposed approaches for revising the Eatwell Guide, are detailed in the Public Health England report ‘From Plate to Guide: What, why and how for the eatwell model’, which can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/579388/eatwell_model_guide_report.pdf The model was informed by an External Reference Group operating transparently. The visual approach was further tested through public research.

Tobacco

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his policy is on the need for an independent review of the evidence relating to heated tobacco innovations.

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will ask Public Health England to undertake a review of heated tobacco innovations in the manner of its previous review of e-cigarettes.

Nicola Blackwood: The Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 require a range of information to be submitted to the Government on novel tobacco products including heated tobacco innovations. The Committee on Toxicity has been asked to review the toxicological data that has been submitted. Public Health England will review any independent publicly available research that has been undertaken.

Defibrillators: Rural Areas

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if his Department will allocate additional funding to local health trusts to install defibrillators in rural locations that are hard to reach by ambulance.

David Mowat: Since the end of the Department’s National Defibrillator Programme in 2007, local ambulance trusts have had responsibility for the provision of defibrillators and are best placed to know what is needed in their local area. In order to support the National Health Service, the Government has provided £1 million to make public access defibrillators more widely available and to increase the numbers of people trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). This builds on the £1 million funding provided in 2015/16, which resulted in 700 publically accessible defibrillators being placed in communities across England and more people trained in CPR. A grant has been made to the British Heart Foundation to disburse the 2016/17 funding and it is currently accepting applications for defibrillators and CPR training kits.

London Ambulance Service: ICT

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2017 to Question 58750, how many times the CommandPoint system for the London Ambulance Service has experienced an outage or failure in (a) 2012, (b) 2013, (c) 2014 and (d) 2015.

Mr Philip Dunne: The system experienced the following number of outages: YearNumber of Outages20120201312014220151

Dental Services: Children

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what preventative and early intervention steps he plans to take to reduce the cost to NHS trusts and foundation trusts of providing tooth extractions for patients aged 18 years and under.

David Mowat: Oral health programmes are commissioned locally by local authorities and NHS England. Public Health England has published evidence based toolkits and works at local level to support these bodies.The National Health Service preventative programme, Starting Well, is aimed at children under the age of five. Based on a preventative approach, the aim and objectives are to provide a number of schemes that will encourage attendance and prevention at an early age, within a variety of locations, to educate and help mitigate the requirements for routine treatment and or extraction within a secondary care environment. The soft drinks industry levy and sugar reduction programme aim to reduce the amount of sugar children and young people consume.

Dental Services: Children

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2016 to Question 56272, if he will identify the 10 high-needs areas within England which are due to receive NHS England's support to improve children's oral health outcomes.

Judith Cummins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2016 to Question 56272, if he will identify the areas which are set to benefit from the programme of dental practice-based initiatives designed to improve the oral health of under five-year olds.

David Mowat: NHS England has selected the areas and these will be announced shortly.

NHS: Per Capita Costs

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much funding his Department plans to allocate from the public purse to the NHS per capita in each financial year up to 2020-21.

Mr Philip Dunne: The following table shows the planned allocation of the health budget and the NHS England budget per capita from 2016-17 to 2020-21. Planned spend per capita 2016-17 to 2020-21 YearDepartment of Health (£)NHS England (£)2016-172,1841,9192017-182,2231,9652018-192,2541,9952019-202,2872,0352020-212,3402,093

Mental Health Services: Community Care

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many (a) members of staff were employed by crisis resolution and home treatment teams and (b) crisis resolution and home treatment teams there were in (i) Liverpool and (ii) each local authority in each year since 2010.

Nicola Blackwood: This information is not collected centrally.

Community Care: Crimes of Violence

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many reports of physical assault during community visits were made by (a) mental health professionals, (b) midwives, (c) health visitors and (d) care workers in each in each year since 2010.

Mr Philip Dunne: The information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Available information on the number of reported physical assaults against National Health Service staff in England since 2004 is at:http://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/3645.aspx

Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the clinical benefits of brief psychosocial intervention; and whether he plans to make such treatment available on the NHS.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the clinical benefits of short-term psychoanalytical psychotherapy; and whether he plans to make such treatment available on the NHS.

Nicola Blackwood: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has made recommendations on brief psychosocial interventions in the guidelines on drug misuse in over 16s: psychosocial interventions (CG51) and the alcohol use disorders: diagnosis, assessment and management of harmful drinking and alcohol dependence (CG115). National Health Service organisations should take NICE guidelines fully into account as they design services to meet the needs of their local populations. NICE has not made any specific recommendations on the use of short-term psychoanalytical psychotherapy.

General Practitioners

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his policy is on the retention of GP practices in areas with an elderly demographic.

David Mowat: The Department does not have a specific policy on the retention of general practitioner (GP) practices in areas with an elderly demographic. NHS England is responsible for the provision of primary medical services in England. As such, it is for NHS England to ensure that patients in all areas have access to GP services. To assess GP service provision in an area, NHS England works with the Care Quality Commission and local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), using data from information sources such as the GP Patient survey and the primary care web tool. In terms of overall strategy, the provision of primary care will be part of the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) which is published in each local authority area and reported through the local Health and Well-being Board. The JSNA will identify any gaps and risks in the provision of primary care to the local population which, in turn, will then inform commissioning strategies for that area. GP Practices as independent contractors are responsible for ensuring that the practice clinical workforce is fit for purpose and able to meet the reasonable needs of population. Where practices are struggling to maintain a clinical workforce with the necessary skillmix, they can seek support from NHS England and their local CCGs. The Department is investing £40 million over four years targeted at supporting practice resilience.

Clacton Hospital: Minor Injuries Units

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of closing  Clacton Hospital's Minor Injuries Unit on accident and emergency provision at Colchester General Hospital.

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of closing Clacton Hospital's Minor Injuries Unit on GP provisioning in North East Essex Clinical Commissioning Group.

Mr Philip Dunne: These are matters for the local National Health Service. No such assessments have therefore been made by the Department. All service changes should be based on clear evidence that they will deliver better outcomes for patients. It is right that these decisions are led by local clinicians, who best understand the healthcare needs of their local populations, and in consultation with local people. Changes must meet the four tests for service change: they must have support from general practitioner commissioners, be based on clinical evidence, demonstrate public and patient engagement, and consider patient choice. We understand that North East Essex Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is currently consulting local people on the future provision of local urgent care services. The CCG has liaised with the local Service Resilience Operational Group to assess the impact of all the potential options.

General Practitioners: Essex

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of GP coverage in North East Essex Clinical Commissioning Group.

David Mowat: NHS England is responsible for the provision of primary medical services in England. As such, NHS England ensures that patients in all areas have access to general practitioner (GP) services. Improvement in primary care access is needed in North East Essex. North East Essex Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) plans new hubs to accommodate teams of health professionals such as GPs, nurse practitioners, mental health nurses, occupational therapists and social care professionals. High street pharmacists would also support local people to self-care. In addition, the CCG plans greater use of technology for remote consultations between clinicians and patients , where appropriate.

Slimming

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to monitor and regulate the sale of weight loss and diet control products.

Nicola Blackwood: Specialist foods for weight loss and diet control are regulated in Great Britain by the Foods Intended for Use in Energy Restricted Diets for Weight Reduction Regulations 1997. These Regulations set out the essential composition of such foods and controls their labelling and advertising. Other products sold for weight loss as food supplements are controlled by the Food Supplements (England) Regulations 2003. These Regulations are made under the requirements of the Food Safety Act 1990. Products found to contain any dangerous substance can be immediately withdrawn from sale. Monitoring food businesses to ensure compliance with food legislation is the responsibility of local authorities. These local authorities are also responsible for taking enforcement action, including prosecutions, where non-compliance is found.

Infant Foods

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that baby milk is safe for consumption.

Nicola Blackwood: The Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula (England) Regulations 2007 establishes specific compositional and labelling controls to ensure the safety and suitability of formula put on the market for sale. This legislation is made under the Food Safety Act 1990 and is enforced by local authority enforcement authorities.

Electronic Cigarettes

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that any research findings on the potentially detrimental effects of using electronic cigarettes is taken into account in NHS policy on use of those cigarettes.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure young people do not become addicted to e-cigarettes.

Nicola Blackwood: The Government has taken a precautionary approach and actively put in place measures to prevent initiation of e-cigarette use by children. These include legislation to restrict age of sale, proxy purchase and the advertising of e-cigarettes. In addition, the use of e-cigarettes is regularly monitored. To date, data shows no significant level of regular use in children. Public Health England has published the guidance ‘Use of e-cigarettes in public places and workplaces’ which can be used locally by the National Health Service to set their policy on the use of e-cigarettes. This advice takes into account the current evidence on these products. The evidence base is kept under regular review as new data becomes available.